Western New York
in Maps, Charts, and Images

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GIS:

Erie

Niagara

Local / Other

Photos

Sanborns

Topos

The UB Map Collection has maps, charts, aerial and satellite photos, and online maps of Western New York, including Erie, Niagara, and other local counties. These maps are in a variety of scales and describe many different aspects of the city and the region.

Most of these maps are located either under a Library of Congress call number, or under the U.S. Government, Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) numbering system. All of these maps may be located using the BISON the UB Libraries Catalog, and then retrieving the desired map from the map drawer (SEL Room 316 map shows general locations).

Search Tip: When searching BISON you may find listings using the following search tip: Enter a subject search, beginning with erie county n y--maps. The following is an example:

s = erie county n y--maps

This will locate almost all Erie County maps. To locate topographic maps of Buffalo, enter the following:

s = buffalo n y--maps topographic

Among this collection are what are referred to as historical topographic maps. These are older topographic maps (1895-1950) of New York State that are kept in the Map Collection Reference Room. Searching BISON is the same as for regular topographic maps. To see some examples of these maps, view the Historical Topographic Maps of Buffalo page.

If you need further assistance, please contact the UGL/SEL Reference Desk, by calling 645-2947 x 233 or via e-mail askASL@buffalo.edu.

• Buffalo New York maps. Sister page providing local maps.
  
  
• Aerial Photograph Collection. Included in the UB collection are aerial photographs and satellite imagery coverage of Erie and Niagara counties for the years 1927, 1966, and 1978. In addition, the Map Collection contains a small collection of miscellaneous satellite imagery of United States cities. Contact the UGL/SEL Reference Desk for access. Also has additional links to other aerial collections of the region.
  
  
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. The UB Map Collection has the 1991 edition of the city of Buffalo, on microfilm. The reels are in the Map Collection Reference Room and can be viewed in the Map Collection. Ask the map librarian or a reference librarian for assistance.
  
  
• Digital Sanborn Maps. The Arts & Sciences Libraries also have a subscription to the digital edition (available to the UB community), providing electronic access to Sanborn fire insurance maps of cities and towns in New York State (1867-1970). The maps are valuable tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, and environmentalists.
  
  
• Soil survey of Erie County, New York / United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service ; in cooperation with the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station. [Washington, D.C.?] : The Service, 1986. These soil surveys are available in print in the following UB locations:
  • SCI/ENGR Book Collection: S591 .A22 N.Y. Erie
  • CAPEN LIBRARIES / Reference: S591 .A22 N.Y. Erie
  • LOCKWOOD LIBRARY / Documents Collection: US A 57.38: Er 4/
  • ARCHITECTURE PLANNING LIBRARY / Book Collection: S599.N7 S55 1986
  • ARCHITECTURE PLANNING LIBRARY / Reserve: S599.N7 S55 1986.

Selection of Virtual Western New York Maps

Holland Land Office map, 1825
Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge
Waterfalls in Western New York

Orienteering Maps
Topographic maps used for people who use compass or GPS equipment to practice ground navigation.

Chestnut Ridge Park
Emery Park
Sardinia County Forest Area.

• See also City, Town, Village, and Other Counties Governments
• Western New York Regional Knowledge Network (RKN). Links to local county, municipal, and other government sites, schools, hospitals, and many other sources. Maps are located throughout the network by topic.
• Empire State Roads. (not a government site but uses NYS data). A website featuring satellite images of cities and towns across New York State. Also covers route markers, road information, and a great deal of material on infrastructure. Further NYS maps and routes resources are:
  • Counties. Map showing boundaries and names for all 62 counties in New York State. Clicking on county will take you to the roads route listing for that county.
  • County Highways. Lists road names/numbers for each county (e.g., Erie, Niagara)
  • Counties in New York State.
  • County Seats. Shows seat of government for each county.
  • Cities. New York State has sixty-two Cities, shown here. They range in population from less than three thousand to over seven million, although most are between ten and thirty thousand. Cities are not the only large municipalities in the State: the largest Village, Hempstead, is more populous than all but twelve of the true Cities, and a few unincorporated places are larger still. Also a list of all Cities, arranged by population (1990 census).
  • Villages. As of 1998 there are 554 incorporated Villages in New York. This map locates each with a dot (larger dots show Cities, smaller dots are used for villages in Rockland, Westchester and Nassau Counties because of scale).
  • Towns. All of the land in New York State lies in either a Town or a City, never both. While not all counties contain Cities, all except the five boroughs of New York City do contain Towns, and these are outlined on the map.
• Geographical Information Systems for WNY (GIS--including Erie and Niagara Counties).
• History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County: with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, in Two Volumes. Edited by H. Perry Smith. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., Publishers, 1884. Online facsimile of the book.
• New York State maps. Official NYS website. includes links:
• Historic Sites Bureau - Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
• Road Maps. Online maps of regions.
• New York State Parks Map and Regional Information
• New York State Thruway Authority. Maps and information.
• Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Maps of the bridges along the border, travel and import/export information.
• Road Maps (from NYS Tourism site)
  • Western NY roads
  • Buffalo-Niagara region
  • All other regions

Erie County Official Sources

• Erie County Government website
• Erie County Atlas, 1866. Scans of maps of each town.
• Erie County Maps
• GIS Link to Erie County sites
• Erie County Aerial Photographs. 1920 and 1951 collections. Also a page of 1920 miscellaneous photos. For additional years, see the UB Map Collection.
• Office of Geographic Information Services. Has GIS data on Erie County. Includes links to consortium cities and towns (see Citiy, Town, and Village Governments), as well as to regional, national, and international geo-data sites.
• Radon Map of Erie County (Erie County Office for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)). Map is part of the Radon Awareness Program. Also has a New York State Radon Map. View a facsimile of the 2000 Radon Map for Erie County.

• Niagara County Official Website.
• Niagara Falls Guidebooks from the 19th Century. Scanned facsimiles of guidebooks from 1840-1915 in the Niagara University Library.
• GIS Link to Niagara County site.
  

• Erie County Internet Mapping System (ECIMS). Designed to provide access to the most popular layers of digital maps in the Erie County's Geographic Information System (GIS). Through this interactive system, users can create and print their own maps, and locate information, on a variety of subjects. Property parcels, roads, parks, schools districts, and environmental data are examples of the types of maps included in the Internet Mapping System.
• Erie County Soil & Water Conservation District GIS. Also provides a variety of data layers, including soil types, flood plains, land use, and land parcels (by lot).
• Niagara County GIS (hosted by Erie County).

Maps

• Amherst Bike Paths (Town of Amherst). Map of bicycle routes with mileage and other data. Includes paths near UB, including an Inter-Campus route.

GIS Sites

These sites Uses the Map Machine to provide mapping of their respective towns and show layers for: map/satellite imagery, soil, water, land use, parcels, zoning, other data.

• Amherst GIS (Town website). Includes maps for Williamsville, NY.
• Buffalo (Erie County consortial site). See also: Erie County Internet Mapping System
• Eden (Erie County consortial site).
• Grand Island (Erie County consortial site).
• Tonawanda (Erie County consortial site).

GIS Sites Outside Erie County

• Community GIS. Villages and towns in the Southern Tier (Chatauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany Counties) GIS sites. Includes villages and towns of: Allegany, Busti, Cattaraugus, Cuba, Delevan, East Randolph, Ellicott, Franklinville, Gowanda, Hume, Limestone, New Albion, Perrysburg, Portville, Randolph, South Dayton, and Wellsville.
• Monroe County GIS. Monroe County, including Rochester. Also has pdfs of main towns in the county. Example: Henrietta, NY. Other thematic maps include agriculture, fire, emergency, flood, land use, soils, population, etc.
• New York State County GIS Sites. List of official county government GIS. Counties are being added as they come online.

• New York State GIS Clearinghouse. The place to go for NYS data and related resources. Includes links to: Who's Who for GIS in Erie and Niagara Counties.
• Historical Collections of the Great Lakes Great Lakes (Bowling Green State University Libraries). Catalog and inventory, with finding guides and collection summaries. Collection contains Archival materials and manuscripts, photos and drawings, along with reference databases relating to the Great Lakes.There is a specific link to the Historic Maps and Charts collection.